Warren symposium follows legacy of geneticist giant

If we want to understand how the brain creates memories, and how genetic disorders distort the brain’s machinery, then the fragile X gene is an ideal place to start. That’s why the Stephen T. Warren Memorial Symposium, taking place November 28-29 at Emory, will be a significant event for those interested in neuroscience and genetics. Stephen T. Warren, 1953-2021 Warren, the founding chair of Emory’s Department of Human Genetics, led an international team that discovered Read more

Mutations in V-ATPase proton pump implicated in epilepsy syndrome

Why and how disrupting V-ATPase function leads to epilepsy, researchers are just starting to figure Read more

Tracing the start of COVID-19 in GA

At a time when COVID-19 appears to be receding in much of Georgia, it’s worth revisiting the start of the pandemic in early 2020. Emory virologist Anne Piantadosi and colleagues have a paper in Viral Evolution on the earliest SARS-CoV-2 genetic sequences detected in Georgia. Analyzing relationships between those virus sequences and samples from other states and countries can give us an idea about where the first COVID-19 infections in Georgia came from. We can draw Read more

podcast

Shout out to Behind the Microscope podcast

For podcast listeners in the Emory biomedical research community, Behind the Microscope is a must-follow. It is produced by four students in Emory’s MD/PhD program: Carey Jansen, Joe Behnke, Michael Sayegh and Bejan Saeedi. They’re focused on career issues such as mentorship and grant strategy rather than the science itself (thus, complementary to Lab Land).

In their list of interviewees so far, they lean toward their fellow “double docs.” Since starting off in October, they’ve talked with Anita Corbett, Brian Robinson, Sean Stowell, Stefi Barbian and Steven Sloan (MD/PhDs underlined). Here are the Apple and Google podcast listings; episodes are also available on platforms such as Anchor.fm.

 

 

Posted on by Quinn Eastman in Uncategorized Leave a comment

Untangling the mysteries of Alzheimer’s disease

Lary Walker, PhD

Consider this: Alzheimer’s is a uniquely human disorder. But why? Why don’t nonhuman primates, such as monkeys, get Alzheimer’s disease. Monkeys form the senile plaques that are identical to the plaques found in humans. So do other animals.

“Yet, despite the fact that nonhuman primates make this protein that we know is very important in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, they don’t develop the full disease,” says Lary Walker, PhD. Walker is an associate professor at Yerkes National Primate Research Center.

“They don’t develop the tangles we associate with Alzheimer’s disease, the neuronal loss, the shrinkage of the brain, and they don’t get demented in the sense that humans do,” says Walker.

When our bodies make a protein, the protein tends to fold into a functional form. But when it comes to Alzheimer’s disease, some proteins misfold, becoming sticky and then combining with one another. In their collective form, the proteins can then form plaques or tangles, the two types of lesions associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

And for some unknown reason, people who have plaques usually go on to form tangles. But people who have tangles don’t always go on to form plaques. No one is sure why. But that’s what researcher Walker wants to find out.

To listen to Walker’s own words about Alzheimer’s disease, access Emory’s new Sound Science podcast.

Posted on by admin in Neuro Leave a comment

Micronutrients: food for thought

Conrad Cole, MD, MPH

Physicians and researchers are seeing a resurgence of micronutrient deficiencies in certain high-risk populations of children. But what exactly does that mean to those children—right now and in the future?

For children who don’t get enough micronutrients it means life-long problems, including decreased neurodevelopment and diminished cognitive abilities.

“Micronutrients are nutrients that are needed by the body in small quantities and are important for development, growth and sustaining life,” says Conrad Cole, MD, MPH, assistant professor of pediatrics in the Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition in Emory School of Medicine. “That’s why they’re called micronutrients, and the ones we commonly think about are iron, vitamin D, calcium and zinc because they all have significant importance.”

To listen to Cole’s own words about micronutrients, access Emory’s new Sound Science podcast.

Read more

Posted on by admin in Uncategorized Leave a comment